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Looking me straight in the eye and
beginning at the very beginning
-Franklin Jarvis told me his story
I am a manufacturer of dress
goods said he My business carries
rae down into Barclay street and the
lower quarters of the town and on that
account I rise early every morning
For many years my wife has not break
fasted with me
We were married fifteen years ago
rand our story is an old one We mar
ried in poverty and were happy We
grew to wealth and were indifferent
When fortune began to smile upon us
-my wife became ambitious and longed
to shine in the social set of which we
rhad read only a little and in gilded
paragraphs
I opposed her and we quarreled
rsometimes gently but more often bit
terly Our words at times rose high
and wlnn as on a recent occasion sue
showed great extravagance in her at
tempts to get into high circles I would
leave the house and not return for a
week at a time Thus it grew steadily
on for the last five years getting worse
and worse
I will tell you now said he hesi
tating and half apologetically that for
the last live years since our trouble be
gau I have been employing my spare
- time in a little amusement whicn I
I have very rigidly kept secret from my
friends I have been writing stories
I During these periods when my wife
and I were estranged and neither of us
would humble ourselves enough to
make the first approaches I have with
drawn from home and taking up my
quarters in a hotel have amused myself
evenings writing fiction This has been
any pastime as other men drive horses
or seek the billiard table My stories
Hiave been in print and doubtless you
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THE MURDER OF A WIFE
23 P2
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night just as it -was growing
ONE and the lengthening shad
ows brought weird memories to
me I was disturbed by the rattling of
a cab which stopped at the door with a
loud Whoa from the driver and a pull
that brought the horse on its haunches
A man sprung out of the cab and
hastily running up the steps pulled
frantically at the door bell Although
it was nearly dark I had time to dis
tinguish the features of one of the lead
ing lawyers of the city
As my servant showed him into the
front parlor by the window of which I
was sitting he came forward and
grasping me by both hands said Mr
Martluot we need no introduction we
both know each other professionally so
a personal acquaintance is
unnecessary -
I motioned mmte acliairIwill
be seated said he but only long
enough for you to get ready to go with
me I want you to go to the Tombs
juy cnent in whose behalf I have
called to see you is there He is in the
shadow of the gallows The noose is
around his neck
It is no unusual thing for me to be
called by a professional man and there
fore I gave no thought to the case as
-we were rattling through the streets
lut the impatience of the lawyer -was
such that he would not allow the cab
man to slacken even upon the slippery
pavements We were nearly there be
fore he mentioned the case He seemed
enable to talk from nervousness When
the shadow of the Tombs fell upon the
cab he turned to me and said
I can tell you only one thing about
the case my client is innocent That Is
-absolute In his confession to me he
could explain nothing he only knows
rthat he is innocent
With this brief prelude I followed my
-guide up the stairs leading to the
Tombs and into the somber gallery that
-runs along murderers row In the last
-cell surrounded by not more than ten
-square feet of space sat my man He
occupied a wooden chair and when the
turnkey unlocked the door he gave no
sign excepting to bury bis head deeper
In his hands and groan
At a glance I saw that he was a gen
tleman He was a man in the prime of
life not over 40 well dressed clean
tshaven and handsome This I saw in
spite of the dark gloom upon his coun
tenance for uever in my life had I seen
such abject despair shown -in the face
of a human being
At the sound of the lawyers voice he
Mifted up his head and at the mention
-of my name a ray of hope seemed to
Come across his countenance He rose
shook hands with us both and beck
oned us to seats on kis rude cot
Now said the lawyer leaning back
cand leaving us face to face together
tell Mr Martinot everything that hap
pened that night and conceal nothing
from him Tell him just as you have
-told me
Mr Martinot have read many of them
under an assumed name My wife
knew of my little pastime and ridiculed
it When I wrote at home I could only
do it in the still hours of the night when
she was asleep
Last Wednesday morning at tlie
breakfast table my wife who had been
extravagant of late brought up the sub
ject of a residence uptown She want
ed to be opposite Central Park and to
ride with the swells of Fifth avenue
I opposed her and she retorted sharply
You will regret this I said as I
rose from the table Yoa inay regret
it sooner than you think By God I
cried as the memory of the things she
had said swept over me anew 1 wisJi
I could go away and never see your
faceagais
Of course I was sorry for the words
as soon as I had said them and during
the day I squared matters with my con
science by sending a basket of flowers
to her I even notified a real estate
manager that I was in the market for
an uptown residence r
I was detained that night at my
office and when I reached home I he
church clock opposite was tolling the
In the basement -went back down the
basement stairs
Bounding up the staircase I threw
open the door of my room and
stepped inside A moment later I was
pulling the bell frantically and shout
ing for help
There upon the edge of the bed lay
my wife with the blood dripping from
her head and heart She was uncov
ered with one arm hanging to the
floor Her countenance was fearfully
distorted She had been cruelly mur
deredstabbed in the head and heart
Stabbed to death by the hand of a mid
night assassin
In a moment the room was filled
with frightened servants and I was
sending them in every direction for
physicians policemen neighbors
But there was nothing to be done
She was dead That much we all saw
at a glance Her head was slashed al
most beyond recognition and the hand
that had done it was a desperate one
I was too dazed that night to con
sider But the next day when the In
quest was held I saw the awkward
position in which I was placed The
coroner in his search of the premises
came upon the manuscripts lying upon
the little table in my writing room and
there word for -word lay before him
the act description of the murder of
my wife just as it was in my manu
script If I had killed her before wri
ting I could not have written down a
more accurate account of the details
I must confess that when I came out
of the Tombs that night I was puzzled
The awfulness of the story and the cer
tainty of conviction were all that I
could bring to mind
Drive me to the home of Franklin
Jarvis I said to the lawyer Let me
in the front door and leave me Come
back for me in one hour
I hardly knew what I intended to do
although my mind was full of vague
suggestions As the front door of the
fated house closed between me and the
street a shiver ran over me in spite of
my many experiences and I walked
softly the full length of the hall and
seated myself In the little writing
room
Taking up pen and Ink I took the
blank sheets of paper before me and
began to write as though I were living
the night of the murder over again As
I wrote I turned and laid the sheets
one by one upon a small Cairo stand
back of me which had evidently been
used for that purpose for there were
hour of 11 I went sof tlv in at the front blotters unon It
door and knowing that my wife would Scarcely had I written a page when I
I HEARD A VOICE SAY FOR THE LOVE OF GOD CAN IT BE HE
be asleep at that hour I walked through
the long hall to a little study situated
at the rear end of the hall Here stood
a small writing desk and here I knew
I could be alone for an hour to quiet my
mind from the business events of the
day and to indulge in my favorite recre
ation of story writing
A plot had come to my mind as I
came uptown in the cars and I resolved
to write it while it was fresh A flat
tering letter from a publisher who had
accepted my latest story made me re
solve to supply him with another as
soon as possible
This time my wife shall know of
my work and be proud of it I will
enter society and court the litterati
while she enjoys herself with the but
terflies I said to myself smiling as I
dipped my pen in the ink
The plot of my story was a singular
one It was the Murder of a Wife
With accuracy I went into each
startling detail and as I wrote down
the bloodthirsty words I saw that my
anger for my wife Was melting away
even as the beauty of the story grew
underneath my fingers When I had
finished I saw that I had achieved
what would be the greatest work of my
life and that honors would come to me
from the public who would read my
story
When I had laid down my pen I
sighed a sigh of relief
I could not do that again for Sl
000 I said aloud No I repeated as
I walked through the hall still Intent
with the plot no I could not do that
again for 10000
Did you speak sir inquired a wo
mans voice
Who is that I asked
It is I Ellen the cook I heard
somebody walking around sir and I
came to see who it was
All right Ellen I said it is I Go
back to bed And Ellen who sleeps
hS1 mminnIHCl
t
thought I heard behind me a stealthy
step On the second page I heard it
again This time there were whispers
I listened and heard a voice say For
the love of God can it be he
I sprang to my feet and turned
around
A loud shriek rose to the ceiling and
out upon the hall floor there fell a
heavy weight It was a man and over
him bent a woman
You scared him almost to death
sir said she I told him that it was
only one of them detectives that they
are always sending here but the back
of your head looked so much like mas
ters that it scared him most to death
Why should that scare him I ask
ed
Sure sir I dont know but lately he
has been like like
At this moment the man opened his
eyes
Forgive me forgive me he cried
I have dreamed of it day and night
forgive
I will forgive you nothing said I
until you confess how your curiosity
made you creep up behind your master
that night and read what he was writ
ing Confess how you went upstairs
and killed your mistress and robbed
her of her jewels confess how you hid
after the others were called and pre
tended to be asleep and confess how
you have allowed an innocent man to
suffer for your crime
Truly frightened now the wretch
told how he overheard the quarrel on
the morning and how he had planned
the murder of his mistress And how
and by what dastardly means he had
found the very description of the mur
der before his eyes and had followed it
out with awful correctness Chicago
Chronicle
Our best friends are apt to appear
bad in amateur theatricals
V -v--
at 3C JST
AGEICULTUEAL NEWS
THINGS PERTAINING TO
FARM AND HOME
THE
Alfalfa a Drouth Resisting Plant
Irrigation Coming to Every Farmer
Clearing Up the Barnyard Best
Branches of Farming
A Drouth Resisting Plant
The chief reason why alfalfa bay
will grow in the short grass country is
that it has long roots They have been
known to strike twenty feet deep for
moisture The plant will not thrive
therefore in soil that is not open and
deep An Ideal place for its growth is
along the river bottoms in the western
part of Kansas land under which
great lakes of sheet water miles
upon miles in extent are found from
ten to twenty five feet below the sur
face The roots of alfalfa readily push
down to the water and drink when
they need moisture and the result is
that the plant blossoms and prospers
and becomes a never failing source of
revenue to the man who cultivates it
On the rolling uplands where there is
scarcely an average rainfall of twenty
five inches a jcar the plant will live
and produce hay nearly always it
makes good pasturage under ordinary
conditions there and is almost certain
every year to produce a line crop of
seed All the uplands re fertile
enough the only trouble about making
use of that fertility being the lack of
moisture Irrigation has not yet suc
ceeded in bringing water in abundance
to the assistance of the tiller of the
soil in this region and therefore only
such a plant can live as has deep roots
and a pertinacity that even the hot
winds of Kansas can not shake Har
pers Weekly
Irrigation
Irrigation in some form will come
sooner or later and the farmer will
then be independent of drouths In
fact irrigation can be practiced on a
majority of farms if the owners will
go to the expense of arranging for a
water supply The windmill hydraul
ic ram and engine can be used to force
water into a tank or reservoir from
which it can be obtained for crops by
gravity What farmers should consid
er is not the expense but the prospect
ive gain It has happened year after
year that at critical stages during the
growth of crops drouth appears and
destroys the farmers hopes the loss
during a single season being greater
than the expense of an irrigating plant
It is also possible that with an unlim
ited supply of water the yields may be
more than doubled and the profits
greatly increased In this region the
rains will assist the farmer the greater
portion of the growing period the sup
ply of water to be stored being only
sufficient to tide the crops over a di
spell With- the ability to apply water
to crops at will and the liberal use of
fertilizers the crops grown on land that
has been used for experimental pur
poses have been enormous as much as
three times the average yield having
been secured
Clearing Up the Barnyard
After the great bulk of winter made
manure is drawn from the barnyard
and spread upon the fields there al
ways remains a considerable amount of
scattering manure which if not gath
ered up is sure to be in large part wast
ed It should at least be always piled
in heaps where it will be less liable to
waste than if spread In most barn
yards there are accumulations of finely
rotted manure that have been left in
previous years It does not pay to
leave such rich manure to go to waste
Two or three loads of such scrapings
are easily worth a dozen from the piles
of unfermented manure Much of this
old manure is rich enough to be used
as a hill dressing for corn to be drop
ped in the hill with the seed grain It
will make the corn come up a dark
green and be more vigorous all the sea
son
Best Branches of Farming
Dairying and poultry keeping are
about the only branches of farming
that afford a nearly continuous income
The main and staple crops yield a har
vest but once a year The profits of
farming generally speaking come
slowly and must be patiently waited
for To some young men ambitious to
get rich fast this seems to be a reason
for choosing to engage in some other
business But the returns of intelli
gent farmers although slow are pret
ty safe and sure The young live stock
which a farmer raises must be fed and
cared for a long time before any profit
comes back but the profit comes in due
time Their growth and increase In
weight goes on silently and steadily as
money at interest and in the end
should amount to much more One im
portant return of profit for labor be
stowed and the cost of fertilizers ap
plied comes to the skilled farmer in the
course of years through the increased
fertility and value of his farm
Peas on Poor Land
Land that is too poor for any other
kind of crop may be profitably sown
with peas putting in with the seed
enough lime phosphate and potash to
make the grain This on very poor land
is a better first crop than clover as the
pea grain is large and will produce a
strong enough stalk to live while the
young clover is so small that it may
easily be killed out before it gets root
hold in the soil It is hard to get a
clover catch on poor soil while peas
will grow no matter how poor the soil
may be
Mutton for Farmers Tables
There is no meat quite so convenient
for farm use as mutton as the carcass
of an average sheep can be easily kept
In most families until it can be eaten
It is very easy to kill and dress a sheep
Not even poultry can be prepared for
the table with so little trouble What
is better the mutton killed on the farm
Is of superior quality It lacks the
woolly taste which so often comes to
mutton from sheep that have been long
driven to market or that have had to
endure long journeys by railroad often
without food or drink for twenty four
to thirty six hours It is one of the ad
vantages of better prices for wool that
more farmers will be able to keep
sheep If mutton could more generally
supersede fat greasy pork on farmers
tables they and their families would
be much more healthy than they are
under present conditions
Sweet Potatoes
Some of the varieties of sweet pota
toes that are most popular in the South
will not succeed with Northern grow
ers The sweet potato requires a long
season to grow in and only the early
kind will succeed in the Northern
States It is usually a mistake to send
South for sweet potatoes to plant The
Northern varieties propagated in slips
for planting by seedsmen are much
better as well as cheaper than trying
to winter the sweet potato and cut it
into sets for planting as Is done with
the ordinary white potato It is a great
advantage in growing sweet potatoes
to have well rooted plants ready to set
out v hcn the soil and air are warm
enough to insure rapid growth Most
of the successful Southern varieties of
sweet potatoes are watery and poor
when grown North
Horticultural Hints
Give the orchard all the potash that it
needs
Coarse raw manure is not fit for the
garden
Toads frogs and lizards are useful in
the garden
The gem melon is the best seller in
the market
Prune the quince tree and train it to
a single stem
Extra work in getting a good seed
bed pays in garden work
Cut off all the bruised roots when
planting a tree but do not mutilate the
top
A neglected orchard encumbers land
that might be used profitably for other
purposes
A late crop of cabbage is easily
grown for the seed can be planted in
the open ground
Five acres in cucumbers for pickles
will ordinarily pay as much as all the
rest of the farm
Seedling Peach Tree3
In every peach orchard free from the
yellows there will be more or less seed
ling peach trees springing up every
year from pits dropped after the peach
was eaten the previous fall It requires
freezing to open these pits and the
germ usually comes forth with the first
warm weather of spring These seed
lings will usually be of poor quality as
they are only natural fruit But if they
are set out in rich soil as soon as the
shoots start they will grow rapidly and
be plenty large enough to be budded in
July next It is a comparatively easy
thing to learn to bud In this way a
stock of peach trees can easily be se
cured if one plants peach stones fron
healthy fruit In the fall and takes care
to use only buds from healthy stock for
bndding purposes
Location for Bees
Many people fail of success with beea
because they do not place the hives
right If too shaded the bees are like
ly to be attacked by the moth miller
which breeds those worms that destroy
the honej It is well to have the bees
up early so the hives should front tc
the east so as to catch the first rays of
the morning sun Either a well roofed j
low building should be put up as a bee
stand or the hives should be set on a
bench under a tree all through the
summer In winter it is not best that
bees should see sunlight If an under
ground cellar out of doors can be fitted
up where the temperature may be kepi
below freezing all the time it will be
much better than the warmer house
cellar
Guessing v Knowing Weights
Wnen the farmer sells one of his ani
mals to the butcher to kill and market
the latter has every advantage He is
used every day to estimating weights
and his business makes it necessary to
guess closely So in most such sales by
guess the farmer is apt to be cheated
often by fifty or a hundred weight
Every farmer who has occasion to sell
anything by weight should procure a
pair of farm scales They will save
their cost often In a single year
Notes for Shepherds
Sheep fertilize the pastures
Sheep are death to wild mustard
Eastern Australia has 100000000
sheep
Dont keep a flock In unventilated
quarters
The Merino matures too slowly for
a profitable mutton sheep
The demand for stock sheep has been
very strong this season
Second growth clover is highly rec
ommended for lambs after weaning
Once in a while the stables should
have an extra and thorough cleaning
Dry feed and nothing else will likely
cause sick sheep before spring Oil
meal is a remedy
The ram is by no means a coward
and we have seen one put up a success
ful fight against a dog
To compel the ewe to raise a lamb
and grow a big fleece the same year is
too much work for her
The breeding of lamb rams is a seri
ous mistake to both the breeder and
customer says a flockmaster Western
Plowman
A man is always looking for letters
but he never answers them
--
MULES FROM THE MINES
Antics of Those that Are Brought Up
to Daylight
The superintendent of the Sweet
Springs mine undertook a thorough
xenovation of the mine the day after
the miners went out on the strike and
the first step preparatory to a general
cleaning up was to remove the mules
from the -underground stables and put
them out on pasture
Some of them bad not been out of
the mine for months a number bad
heen below the surface for two or three
years and one had not seen the sun
shine for seven years as long as Jacob
served for Leah
They were led from the mine twenty-seven
patient creatures and turned
loose in Morrisons pasture field They
stood about close together knee deep
in the lush green grass and sweet red
clover with drooping heads and eyes
half closed as though dazed by their
sudden change of circumstances At
last as the sun dropped down behind
Bowmans hill one gray old veteran
threw up his head and sniffed at the
fine fragrant air blowing down the val
lej and in a moment a little movement
went through the whole group
The old leader wheeled about sharp
ly took a long look at the clear sky
above the brawling little brook chat
tering over the stones the grass and
the trees then he threw up his held
stiffened lias tail i
vu forth
a pro
longed penetrating strident
which woke the echoes over
on Maple ridge and with an awkward
lumbering bound he started down the
long slope In an instant the whole
mass had separated and was In inotionjT
Such running racing kicking and
jumping were never before seen Stiff
knees dim eyes and spavined joints
were all forgotten in the pure enjoy
ment of out of doors They brayed and
bellowed ran and kicked stopped for
breath then began again
The whole village gathered at the
fence to see the fun The men and
boys laughed and shouted the babies
crowed and one or two women cried a
little for there were sores and lame
ness and weakness in plenty
When night fell they were still roll
ing about and racing forgetful of the
hunger and thirst that might be
fied by the running stream and the
grass
Old Mrs Bascom who lives at the
edge of the pasture field was Avakened
in the dark hours toward morning by
the rapid rush of hoofs thundering
down the hillside and turning over on
her pillow she murmured drowsily
Dear Lord who would a thought that
any livin critter would be so glad and
thankful for no thin but air and free
domsNew Lexington Tribune
Unruly Sledge Dogs
Carlo a big retriever opened the ball
by killing one of the Ostiak dogslle
swaggered about among the pack and
exhibited all the supposed characteris
tics of the Britisher abroad To check
his homicidal or ratner canicitiai pru
clivities I tied the dead dog round his
neck This however he evidently
viewed as an excellent arrangement
especially devised for the arctic where
the food supply is defective and at
once proceeded to make a cold lunch
of his late adversary looking up at
me with grateful eyes evidently think
ing that it was very considerate of
Jackson thus to provide him with a
larder right at hand After this the
dead dog was removed and Carlo was
always decorated with a muzzle I
afterward made a good sledge dog of
hini but he could not stand the severe
climate and although the doctor made
a blanket coat for him the poor old
chap died sledging during the first fort
night in spite of it
The rest of the pack were hardly less
bellicose but conducted their battles on
lines hardly in accordance with civil
ized warfare With the exception of
two or three dogs I always had the en
tire pack chained up having taken out
a large supply of English chains but
I found these quite inadequate to i
strain these comparatively small dogs
One dog would break loose and then
commence a fight with another The
whole pack would become wildly ex
cited and all would then fall upon the
losing combatant The result would be
another dead dog F G Jackson in
the Geographical Journal
They Were Wed
Pretty Miss Polly declared shed not wed
Shed rather yes rather far rather be
dead
Twere better to lie in the cold cold
grave
Than be some horrid mans humble
slave
For what is a wife but a slave she said
A slave when once she is wed
Handsome young Harry too said hed
not wed
For a wife mast be petted and pampered
and fed
Twere better to live your life all alone
That yonr nose may escape the pro
verbial grindstone
For a husband is naught bat a slave1
he said
A slave when once he is ved
As might be expected this perverse young
pair
Fell in love at first sight and did straight
way declare
Twere better far better they twain
should be one
Than lonely to sigh and true happiness
shun
aFor Love is a slave yes a slave so
they said
Forever a slave and they wed
Chicago Times Herald
Hobnail Shoes
In many parts of Lancashire and
Yorkshire shoes for the working class
es of both sexes are sold with heavy
square hobnails whose clatter in the
streets in the morning as the wearere
go to work is almost intolerable
A favorite trick of a scoundrel is to
place good men in such a position that
that are compelled to stand by hirk
in
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